Category Archives: General

Over the centuries, different musical instruments have evolved in China. Musical instruments in China are broadly classified according to the material they are made up of. Some of the traditional materials are silk, stone, gourd, bamboo, metal, clay, wood and skin. With time, the traditions changed and the taste of music has also marked a remarkable difference. With time, wood and stone instruments have become unfashionable. Another classification of the musical instrument is percussion, wind, and string instruments. Further, the stringed instruments are categorized as bowed string and plucked string instruments. Older time instruments include flutes, mouth organs, panpipes, long zithers, etc.
Some of percussion instruments were gongs, drums and clappers. With time, new art forms were accepted in China inspired from Central Asia such as fiddles and lutes. China has a unique blend of different types of music. Instruments used by them are too very versatile. A famous instrument in China is the Erhu, which is a bowed string type instrument. It is one of the most admired instruments in the Hu-quin family. It is basically a two stringed fiddle. It is similar to the Gao hu, another bowed string musical instrument.
Eruhu cannot play many high pitched tones thus Gao hu is used in place for higher pitched music. Brisk and vivid rhythms are performed very well by Gao hu. The tone produced by Gao hu is very bright yet louder. This is the reason it is used for both solo performances as well as for performing folk melodies. Cantonese operas are also well performed by these instruments. Another famous instrument is China is the Pipa, which is a plucked string musical instrument. It belongs to the family of lute. Basically, a four stringed lute with pear shaped body and 30 frets. Pipa is held in an upright direction by the musician. In China, the wind musical instruments are the most popular ones.

There are instruments that have one key sound to which they are fixed. On the other hand, we have electric guitars with a huge variety of sounds. It is the best example of modern age instruments. The sound varies from one guitar to another. The sound of the guitar depends largely on the amp you choose. Use of pedals affects the functioning of a guitar to a large extent. It changes the tone of the instrument. Many famous guitarists have been seen using pedals till date using pedals to enhance their signature sound. Wah pedal is the most famous pedal incorporated in guitars. Its trademark sound is “wah wah” and thus the name. It was commonly used by famous guitarists like Tom Morello and Jumu Hendrix. The way a gas pedal is managed in a car in a similar fashion it is managed in the guitar. It gives a lot of difference to the sound produced by the guitar.
To understand the effect of this pedal you can listen to songs like Voodoo child by Hendrix and Bulls on parade from the album Rage against the machine. The reverb and delay are two other forms of pedals. An instant echo is produced by the reverb pedals which are similar to a sound produced when someone yells in a cathedral or open building. The delay is also like echo only but it repeats the sound in a controlled manner. Delays are of many types, but the major classification is between digital and analog delays. The Edge of U2 is the most prominent user of delay pedals. Whether you listen to any song from them and you will notice the extreme use of Delays. Extreme use of reverb and delays creates soundscapes. Other pedals like distortion, overdrive, and fuzz are also used. Almost every guitarist uses one or more form of these pedals.